


Castle Steps

by ChildishFluff



Series: The Many Adventures of Mister Nook and Toddler Tommy [6]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Anxiety, Babysitter!Eret, CG!Sam, Light Angst, Little!Tommy, Non-Sexual Age Play, awesamdad, not ageplay the tagging system is just trash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 21:08:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29739906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChildishFluff/pseuds/ChildishFluff
Summary: When Tommy has a nightmare that leads to a panic attack, Sam insists he stays with a babysitter in case ends up regressing. This situation upsets the teenager and causes him to lash out at someone who did nothing wrong, King Eret. They knew that Tommy was just upset and emotional and frustrated, but that doesn't give him an excuse to make a mess when his shouting and stomping doesn't get him what he wanted, his caregiver.Instead, he gets a timeout on the castle steps until his father figure returned.
Relationships: Eret & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Sam | Awesamdude & TommyInnit
Series: The Many Adventures of Mister Nook and Toddler Tommy [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2153259
Comments: 29
Kudos: 223





	Castle Steps

**Author's Note:**

> I KNOW I HAVEN'T UPDATED THIS SERIES IN A BIT!!! I'm sorry!  
> Anyways, a few people requested a fic where Tommy *actually* does something to get himself into trouble, and out of every concept I came up with for that, this one turned out the best. Warning for crying and Tommy panicking quite a bit, and some obvious aftermaths of his past (assuming that just because he got in trouble, he doesn't deserve comfort or care), and Tommy referring to Eret and the whole castle as "stupid and annoying" (i don't know if that needs a warning but y'know).  
> I hope you enjoy, just beware that it's a bit angsty.

"Eret, I'm bored." 

Tommy was big, he didn't know why Sam was making him stay with Eret. He didn't need a babysitter! He was Big Man, not some toddler who always needed someone watching over him. 

Okay, so _maybe_ he had a nightmare about Wilbur and L'manburg and Dream and a bunch of bad and scary things the night prior, and he tracked down Sam in a panic, approaching him in tears and obviously not doing so well, but he was _fine_ now. 

But Sam insisted that there was a large chance he might regress eventually, and that he actually expected him to after being comforted. Instead, Tommy had stayed big and tried following Sam around to distract himself, but the creeper hybrid sent him away when he had to go to the prison, claiming that the environment would only be more stressful for him. 

"Hi bored, I'm Eret," they replied, cutting some fabric for a dress they were making. Tommy only rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and leaning back in the throne he was sitting in. He had taken the opportunity to sit on Eret's throne when she offered, looking around the main room of the castle as the clothes maker got to work. 

"I know you don't wanna be here, but Sam's just doing what's best for you," he sighed, turning on the sewing machine and starting the process of putting the dress together. 

"Sitting in a castle where there's nothing to do isn't 'what's best for me'," the teenager scoffed, "I don't need a babysitter, I'm fine!" he exclaimed, his voice sounding whiny and annoyed. 

"Mhm." was Eret's only response, the king looking a bit amused with the situation. Tommy huffed, continuing his rant, as if he wanted a different reaction. 

"I want to leave," he said, pushing this farther as if to test how far he could go before Eret got upset with him. 

"You can do so, but Sam will be upset with you." Eret pointed out. 

"I don't care," He claimed, sitting up a bit.

"I think we both know that isn't true," He glanced up at Tommy, tilting his head a bit as they paused what they did. Tommy groaned, flopping back and leaning into the cushioning of the chair again. 

"I hate this." 

"I know." 

Eret knew that Tommy was just in a bad mood, and was willing to let him take out his anger and complain as much as he wanted to them. He'd be mean and rude but he didn't mean it, he just wasn't doing well right now. 

"When's Dad coming back?" Tommy whined eventually, kicking his feet out and swinging them back and forth as he stared up at the ceiling. 

"Soon, probably," He replied, smiling a bit. Tommy didn't refer to Sam as 'dad' outside of his headspace much, which either meant he was vulnerable or just close to slipping. 

"You're really annoying," Tommy told her, seemingly out of nowhere. 

"Mhm." Eret hummed, still not paying much mind to the moody kid. 

"I don't wanna be here." He announced, once again. 

"I know, Tommy." 

Tommy seemed to get frustrated with Eret for responding so calmly, instead of picking up on the fact that he wanted to see his caregiver, or asking him what was wrong. They were just barely acknowledging his behavior, letting him be as mean as he wanted without question. After a while of meaningless back and forth, the teenager jumped up from his seat, storming over to where Eret was sitting, the crafting station set up in the middle of the room. 

"This is stupid, I wanna leave," he stood with his arms crossed, looking down at them. 

"You came all the way over here just to tell me that?" He sounded amused once again, only annoying Tommy more. He stomped his foot, showing that he was indeed, not completely big. "What are you, throwing a fit?" 

"I want Sam," he whined, shaking his head. "I don't wanna be here, this is stupid." he repeated. 

"Hmm," Eret paused, "You're gonna have to wait until he gets back. Sorry, hun." 

Tommy huffed, stepping forward and pausing, as if second guessing his actions. In the end, he went for it, knocking a tub full of fabric samples off the table Eret was working at. He really didn't know what he was doing, it was illogical, but he was frustrated and upset and he expressed that by being bratty, not really considering how his actions could get him into trouble. 

"Tommy," she said sternly, stopping everything and looking up at him with a look that said 'you shouldn't of done that'. "I know you're not happy with the situation, but you don't get to make a mess and throw around my stuff because of it. Pick it up, please." 

Tommy glanced down at the mess of fabrics, biting his lip, before shaking his head. "Come on, Sam will be here soon and he won't be happy about this." 

"Don't care," he said, even though he knew that was a lie. 

"Go sit on the steps," they ordered. 

"Huh?" Tommy tilted his head, confused with wide eyes. 

"You're going in timeout until Sam gets here," he explained calmly, "Go sit on the steps." She repeated. 

Tommy seemed shocked, just standing there for a moment. He wasn't used to punishments anymore, Sam didn't do them. But then again, Tommy had never thrown a fit like this for Sam. Quietly, he made his way over to the staircase that lead up to another floor on the castle, sitting at the bottom and recrossing his arms. 

"No talking, or getting up until me or Sam says you can. If you need something badly, you can ask." 

The little remained grumpy over the next few minutes, huffing and puffing as if trying to get attention from the babysitter, who still paid no mind to his attitude. In the next day or so, Tommy would realize he was being rude to someone who didn't deserve it, but right now, he was just upset. 

He had to spend his day in a boring castle, and when his tactic of being mean didn't get him any attention or get him what he wanted, he only got more upset. He just wanted Sam. Not Eret, not his dumb castle, and not this stupid timeout. 

He didn't care how stressful the environment of the prison was, if Sam was there, he wanted to be too. 

The reality of what he had done and what that meant didn't seem to hit him until Sam walked into the castle and Eret pulled him to the side to explain what had happened. Tommy felt himself panicking suddenly, trying to keep his breath steady. 

He was in trouble. He was mean and Sam was gonna hate him. He had been bad and bratty and terrible, all because he wanted to be with his caregiver, not realizing he'd only upset him in the process of trying to get him back. 

"Tommy?" 

The boy was pulled back to reality and out of his anxious thoughts when he heard his caregiver's voice, the man stood in front of him with his arms crossed. He looked so...upset. Stern, confused, disappointed. Tommy felt tears build up in his eyes at just the look alone, even scooting back on the step, as if to get away from the caregiver. 

As if he was scared of him. 

His old caregivers never physically abused him, in any way, even back then they knew that was to far, but they did yell a lot. And the punishments were terrible. And they acted so cold to him, not usually comforting him once everything was over. 

Tommy didn't wanna experience that again. 

"Oh, come here," Sam immediately softened his face with a light sigh, coming to sit next to him on the step, opening his arms. The regressor looking conflicted, before shaking his head and baking away from him, scooting farther down the step. 

He didn't deserve the comfort or affection, no matter how much he wanted it. He was bad and bratty and terrible. 

The man lowered his arms, looking concerned, before speaking softly, "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not gonna yell, I just wanna talk." 

Tommy whined, tears running down his face as he refused to face him. "Can you tell me why you were being rude to Eret?" 

The boy shrugged, hugging himself and blinking harshly, sniffling a bit. "Tommy, please talk to me." the creeper pushed, still speaking in a soft and calm way. "Is it because you wanted to be with me?" He gave up on trying to get him to verbally communicate.

That earned a nod from the toddler-minded boy. 

"I was gonna come back, you know that," Sam told him, "And, me not being here wasn't Eret's fault, and they didn't deserve to be treated the way you acted." 

Tommy looked down at his lap, lip quivering softly as he tried to take a deep breath. "I know part of this is on me, I should've known that after a panic attack and nightmare like that, you'd wanna be with me, but you could've asked Eret to call me. Or you could've," the caregiver pointed out. Tommy hated being told what he did wrong, he already felt bad enough. 

"How about we make a deal, okay?" the caregiver offered, grabbing the boy's attention. Tommy finally looked up at him, anxiety and curiosity clear across his face. He was still crying, and somewhat panicking, but he was listening to him. 

"Next time something happens, and you really just need a day with me, I'll find a way to clear my schedule. Or include you in it," Sam promised, "You just have to communicate that you need me. And you go pick up the stuff you knocked over, and apologize to Eret for your behavior today. Then, we can just move on, yeah?" 

Tommy sniffled again, nervously glancing over to where Eret sat at the table, having gotten back to work and letting Sam take care of this. He looked back to Sam, biting at his lip. "You wanna hug, baby?" Sam questioned, "I know today's been a long one." 

"B-but," Tommy took a deep breath before continuing due to how he stumbled over his words, "I was bad." 

"Throwing one fit doesn't you a bad kid, and even the worst behaved babies deserve comfort," Sam told him, opening his arms, "Come here, I know you need it." 

Tommy seemed hesitant, but he came closer to him, wrapping his arms around his caregiver and cuddling into him when he realized that he was okay. This really did make him feel better, and just a bit less scared. Sam rubbed his back, rocking them back and forth. After a bit, Tommy's breathing seemed to finally regulate itself and he was done crying. He started mumbling, things like 'm' sorry' or 'I was bad' into his chest, causing Sam's heart to break. 

"I know, I know," his caregivers voice spoke up, reassuring and kind. "Go on, little one," he unwrapped his arms from around the little, letting him sit up. "Let's get this over with, okay?" 

"And I won't be in trouble anymore?" his little voice spoke up, childlike and high-pitched. 

"Yeah, I think this timeout paired with an apology is enough of a punishment." he ruffled his hair, smiling softly as to encourage him. Tommy didn't smile back, focusing on his breathing for a moment while he fiddled with his hands, glancing up at Eret a few times before finally getting up. 

He was scared, but he wanted to make this right. He needed to. Everything would be okay once he did this, he told himself. He'd be out of trouble and everything would be better. He just needed to say sorry, no matter how scary facing Eret was. 

Sam followed behind him as he made his way over to the dress maker's table, standing there and continuing to fidget with his hands until Eret said something. "Hello, Tommy. Did you need something?" they spoke softly and calmly, just like Sam did, trying comforting and show that they weren't angry with him in any way. 

"Hi, Eret," he said, "m' sorry for bein' mean to you." 

"You're okay, I know you just needed your caregiver, and I'm not mad at you. I appreciate your apology." He said, making Tommy smile a bit. 

"Still friends?" he asked, tilting his head. 

"Of course," Eret chuckled, before holding out his pinky to him. Tommy locked it with his, feeling the tension release from his shoulders as he was overcame with relief. He _was_ okay, he knew that now. "Would you please help me clean up the fabrics?" 

Tommy nodded quickly. 

In just a minute or two, the fabrics were put back in their tubs and it was sitting neatly in it's spot on the table once again. "Give Eret a hug if you want to, we're gonna be heading to your house, okay?" Sam informed. 

The toddler ran up to the king without another word, attacking them in a hug that made her chuckle. "You give good hugs, y'know?" Eret told him, ruffling his hair when he pulled away. Tommy smiled widely, humming a bit. 

He looked back over to Sam, who had pulled his bag of little gear over his shoulder and stood over by the doors of the castle, motioning him over. "Bye bye," the regressor said, before promptly running off to join his caregiver. 

\--

"You feeling better, buddy?" 

Tommy sat on one of his chests, swinging his feet under him. He was now dressed up in a shirt and a blue jean overall skirt that reached almost to his knees. He also had cute white socks with red ruffles, complete with matching shoes and a pacifier.

So what if Sam spoiled him a lot? He was happy, that's what mattered. 

If he wanted cute clothes and more little gear, the caregiver would do everything to make sure it happened. 

"Mhm, lots," he replied. 

"That's good," Sam smiled, running his fingers through his hair, chuckling when he leaned into the touch. "How old are you today?" 

Tommy thought, reaching out for his caregiver's hand. Immediately, he let him take it, paying attention as the boy turned over his hand and tapped on his palm a few times with his pointer finger before letting go of it. "Three? Wow, you're so big!" 

This form of communication is something that had started recently. Tommy would draw on his palm when he wanted to ask for something/tell him things but he didn't feel like talking, whether that was because he was shy or just to little to speak. 

His caregiver's words caused the toddler to giggle, shaking his head. "No, no, tiny!" 

"Tiny? Does tiny Tommy like tickles?" Sam paused, smirking a little. Tommy's eyes widened as his face went red, the boy immediately trying to scoot back away from him. Of course, he could only get so far before his back hit the wall. 

Sam reached out, tickling his sides mercilessly. Tommy squirmed, squealing and trying to talk around his laughter. Eventually, he was able to use his foot to lightly push Sam away. The caregiver knew this meant he needed a break, so he stepped back, smiling at him. 

The creeper hybrid was purposely being really playful and energetic, noticing that Tommy seemed to want a distraction from the day's events. He could talk to him about everything later, make it clear that he was willing to rearrange his schedule for him if he needed, the boy just needed to ask. He'd also help him find better ways to express that he's frustrated or upset, but for now, he'd play with him. 

He'd make a hard day a happier one by causing him to giggle and laugh. 

"Hi, baby," 

"Hi, Daddy," Tommy was smiling wide, "I love you." he added. 

"I love you too," Sam's heart always melted whenever Tommy said that, even more so when he slipped up and said it while big. Either way, it was sweet that he trusted him enough to say something so vulnerable. "You're such a sweet baby." 

"I wasn' sweet today, though! I was mean," Tommy pouted. Sam's eyes widened as he quickly jumped to comfort him. 

"Maybe you were, but you apologized and now everything is okay. No one's mad at you," he took his hands in his, squeezing them softly, "Every kid gets into trouble at some point, mistakes are expected and okay. It's how we learn from them that matters." 

"Can you tell me what you learned today?" 

"Not to be a meanie," Tommy said simply, in a matter of fact way, looking down at his hands in Sam's, squeezing his back. Sam only chuckled, 

"I'll ask you that again when you're a little bigger," Sam leaned forward, kissing his forehead softly. "Now, what do you wanna do?" 

The boy didn't reply, making grabby hands up at him. The caregiver reached down, lifting him up by the waist and resting him on his hip, wrapping his arm around him. "Did you want your pacifier?" Sam asked, noticing that it had been left on the chest. Tommy nodded quickly, taking the red pacifier in his mouth when Sam took the protective case off of it and held it up to his lips. 

"Do you wanna go play outside? Cuddle for a while? Watch a movie?" Sam knew that sometimes Tommy needed some options laid out for him, he'd get overwhelmed trying to pick from to broad of a spectrum. 

"Play then cuddle?" Tommy spoke softly around his pacifier, resting his head on Sam's shoulder. 

"Sounds like a plan to me," Sam confirmed, walking over to another chest and opening it, revealing most of Tommy's toys. 

The caregiver's tactic of distracting him worked well, he got caught up in the silly antics and games, running around in his cute little outfit while Sam complimented and praised him for every little thing. Maybe Sam felt a little bad about having to punish him in any way, and was trying to make sure that he knew what he did _right_. 

He'd try his best to make sure that the teenager knew that getting upset was okay, and not make him feel bad for having those emotions. Instead, he'd encourage him to express it in a different way, and find ways to deal with those feelings. 

Tommy would probably apologize to Eret again when he was big, and he'd probably still feel bad about the whole situation for a while, but Sam's comfort did help. Tommy had learn that getting in trouble didn't mean he didn't deserve comfort or care. 

The whole familial relationship between Sam and Tommy was full of the teenager re-learning things put in his head by other adults in his life. He was allowed to fidget, he was allowed to make mistakes, he was allowed to need help. 

_He was allowed to be a kid._

**Author's Note:**

> Did you like the little fluffy bit I added in the end to like, heal the wound the angst could've possibly left? because I try to do that after any emotional/angsty bit. Anyways, please leave feedback in the comments, it helps a lot! You can talk about your favorite bit/detail, talk about what you wanna see in this series/request, or just leave a strand of emoji's if you don't feel like talking! If you don't know what to comment, I usually put some questions on things I want feedback on, if you'd like to answer those:  
> Did you guys like how Eret was just like "mhm mhm I'm annoying, sure" and how he dealt with Tommy's little fit? Would you guys like to see more of Eret babysitting Tommy, more fluff based next time? Also, what about more of Little Tommy doing/wearing more feminine things? I showed him wearing ruffle socks and a skirt here and I'm curious if you guys thought that was cute or not. And feel free to comment on anything else, as well!  
> I plan on doing something with Little!Ranboo and Little!Tommy next for this series, so expect that maybe?


End file.
